A two-level, 140-space parking garage will be built under the new hotel, which will be built directly east of the existing Courtyard hotel in a space currently used as a surface parking lot. The underground parking garage will be mainly for Residence Inn guests, while Courtyard guests will use valet parking. The Residence Inn at Rookwood Exchange will have a swimming pool, fitness center and 118 rooms.

Rookwood Exchange, the more than $100 million mixed-use development in Norwood, has landed another large office user.

Park National Bank, a Newark-based community bank with eight locations in Greater Cincinnati, will open its ninth office in the Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate Inc. development. This location will be the bank’s commercial lending and wealth management headquarters in Greater Cincinnati.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The new hotel has been under construction for about a month now. So far, it's just been excavation work, as I think there is going to be a level or two of underground parking at the site, but renderings posted on the construction fence show a fairly plain looking (similar looking to the office building in RE) ~7 story hotel. When completed, this building will really make the whole Rookwood area feel like a pretty substantial mid rise district. With the office buildings on the west side of 71, the Rookwood Commons office building, Rookwood Exchange building, Mariott Courtyard, and the new hotel, you have a pretty substantial collection of fairly large buildings clustered together. Should be interesting to see how this hotel alters the feel of the area.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Also - World of Beer does no list Rookwood on their website as "Coming Soon". The Business Courier reported in spring 2015 they were headed to Rookwood to open their first Cincinnati area store but that does not seem to be the case any longer.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Also - World of Beer does no list Rookwood on their website as "Coming Soon". The Business Courier reported in spring 2015 they were headed to Rookwood to open their first Cincinnati area store but that does not seem to be the case any longer.

I'm still holding out for the Beer Hall of Fame under the Domino's Pizza Theatre

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Also - World of Beer does no list Rookwood on their website as "Coming Soon". The Business Courier reported in spring 2015 they were headed to Rookwood to open their first Cincinnati area store but that does not seem to be the case any longer.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

One of the largest accounting firms in Greater Cincinnati is moving its local offices to Rookwood Exchange. [...]

Currently, Grant Thornton’s office is located across the highway in Cornerstone at Norwood, located at 4000 Smith Road. Rookwood Exchange, located at 3825 Edwards Road, is a 250,000-square-foot mixed-use building developed by Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate Inc.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I was trying to research the Rookwood Pavilion/Commons development, trying to figure out when each phase was built. This aerial from 1994 shows Rookwood Pavilion (the one with Joseph Beth and Don Pablos) but industrial buildings still existed where Rookwood Commons would eventually be built. I had no idea that it was that old...it's already been there for at least 23 years. I did find this article from 1998 talking about the R.K. LaBlond Machine Tool Co. that occupied the site until it closed in 1989. It refers to Rookwood Pavilion as a place where "one can sip gourmet coffee, browse through a best-seller, consume a meal, get a haircut or purchase clothes and shoes", however it strangely doesn't mention anything about how several parts of the old LaBlond facility were saved and incorporated into the new development, such as the powerhouse that was turned into a Don Pablos.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

It's just so frustrating that when big industrial sites like this opened up, literally all we could think of at the time was, "I dunno, put a strip mall there." I know that back in the early 1990s, developers weren't really doing the mixed use, faux urban developments that are so common now. But look at that aerial and imagine what could have been if the existing streets and houses were kept, new streets were added that connected to the grid and featured apartments above retail. Instead, we replaced almost everything that that photo with four separate, poorly designed plazas that don't even connect to eachother, and despite there being a sea of parking, there is never a parking space available.

Link to post

Share on other sites

A developer is planning a four-phase, $12 million redevelopment project in the heart of Norwood.

Living Heritage Homes plans to convert two former school buildings and two former church buildings into 112 residential condominiums. The overall project, which is being called the Legacy Lofts on Courtland, is expected to be a $10 million to $12 million project.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

^If all 4 phases happen, that will be a significant boost to that neighborhood! I'm nervous though that the financing will struggle to find comparable condos in Norwood at price points high enough to justify the renovation costs.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

A source tells me that the tiny "skyscraper" in downtown Norwood -- the 6-story thing across from the Walgreen's, sustained significant water damage when its pipes burst while vacant. Plus the owners foolishly sold off its back parking lot which inhibits their ability to get financing for a redevelopment. So no telling what its future might be.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The final piece of the more than $100 million mixed-use Rookwood Exchange development is open for business.

Residence Inn by Marriott, a 118-room hotel in Norwood, opened for business on Sept. 29. Developed by Jeffrey R. Anderson Real Estate Inc., Brandicorp and Lexington Management Corp., the hotel is expected to build on the success of the existing Courtyard by Marriott hotel at the property by catering to long-term business travelers.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

^If all 4 phases happen, that will be a significant boost to that neighborhood! I'm nervous though that the financing will struggle to find comparable condos in Norwood at price points high enough to justify the renovation costs.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Was driving around the city before I had to go to work and looking for projects. Found this one at the corner of Montgomery and Waverly. It use to be a few older 2 story industrial buildings if I'm not mistaken. It was a nice little surprise to find.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

I've been spending more time in Rookwood commons, the big giant suburban strip mall with all the chain stores and whole foods, etc..

I've come to the conclusion that who ever approved this development is a massive idiot.

Just why?

Don't get me started on why they choose to do a massive suburban strip mall instead of something more enclosed/urban minded. It's so close to the urban core, why did they want such a large suburban mall instead of something more fitting for it's surroundings? Blows my mind...this must have been during a time where "urban centric design" was considered a curse word and any development without 20 acres of surface parking was considered sin.

Next, the pedestrian safety, or lack thereof is disgusting. Walking from the parking lot to the chains you have cars bolting through the lanes of traffic. I almost got hit 3 times yesterday! No one looks, everyone is speeding. This area needs bump outs, 3D cross walks, larger and wider side walks, patrols.

This development is so messed up. The design is stupid, out of place suburban worshipping, while being so near the urban core. Kenwood mall comes across as more urban than this crap.

Furthermore, this design was so focused on cars that nothing was designed for the pedestrian. It's disgusting and the city of Norwood should feel ashamed that this ugly thing was ever built.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The main thing that bothers me about Rookwood is that there is no pedestrian (or car really) connection between the two halves. If you want to walk from Nordstrom Rack to the Gap, what should be 50 yards turns into walking all the way around the development and down a glorified alley with no sidewalks and cars wizzing by. It could be as easy as moving Talbots and Shoe Carnival to open up a pedestrian thruway across the buildings.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Still they could have planned for a connection to be made after lease terms were up, but they blocked it on the new side too. The Talbot's space looks to be sectioned off just right from above, with parapet walls on both sides, but they filled it in anyway. The whole place really is a disaster, and the only reason it's successful I think is because of its proximity to Hyde Park and Oakley. It has no inherent positive qualities, and even the driving experience is awful, especially from the Madison Road side.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Everyone calm down, Rookwood Commons and Pavilion will be connected. Its in the financial phase right now. The commons development will also be getting new development on the existing surface parking lots. Everything takes time. People also need to remember that both shopping centers when complete were a major gamble. No one would have developed something like that in the City of Cincinnati let alone outside Kenwood or Tri-County area (when it was hopping). There are successes and failures with anything. They brought in a lot of retailers and restaurants new to the market. They created a more convenient area to shop instead of the malls around the beltway.

2

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

The only big issue I have is with Rookwood (work a second job at one of the stores) is how much more parking there is on the Bed Bath and Beyond side opposed to the Nordstrom rack side. On any given summer Saturday or around the holidays it can be a pain to find any parking and they do not advertise very well that you can park in garage behind Potbelly’s.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Saw on Reddit today that West Elm is opening at Rookwood Commons (or pavilion, whichever one is to the west). They left Kenwood, and the Cincinnati market, in 2010. Glad to see them back, however, in other cities they are opening in more up and coming neighborhoods... Wonder why they didn't choose OTR?

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Saw on Reddit today that West Elm is opening at Rookwood Commons (or pavilion, whichever one is to the west). They left Kenwood, and the Cincinnati market, in 2010. Glad to see them back, however, in other cities they are opening in more up and coming neighborhoods... Wonder why they didn't choose OTR?

They did look in OTR for awhile, but couldnt find the sq. ft. numbers they were after. They are opening in the Commons next to REI.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

Downtown people don't eat as much fast food as suburbanites. Also, it's much tougher to make it without a drive-through and lots of activity through all dayparts in fast food today. Back in the '80s when Downtowns had a lot of fast food it was a totally different business environment for the companies internally.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

When I used to live in Norwood I would often walk from my house at Carter and Sherman to there. It's a 15 minute walk but gets pretty bleak once you get to the Walgreens due to all the surface parking and cars moving around like you are in the way.

The main distinguishing factor here is zoning. Cincinnati has regulations preventing strip malls and drive-thru's in the CBD, Norwood doesn't and welcomes them. Fast food can tenant storefronts downtown but they have to play by the rules. Most of the real estate brokers these chains use don't understand urban and don't want to. Their corporate clients see massive profits with drive-thru's, free parking and the like. They are unwilling to experiment with urbanism so they avoid it or try to break the communities zoning code through variances and appeals.

On a macro decision scale, Cincinnati waged this fight 20 years ago when a McDonald's wanted to locate around where the casino is now and wanted a conventional store. Then again in the early 2000's when Kroger tried to demolish the Haile Justice Center for a new box to replace the one on Vine Street. The city fought these and our core is less compromised with automobile-oriented out-parcels because of it.

“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

How the heck did Norwood get so many fast food chains with half a block form each other, but areas of uptown and downtown can't sniff even a larosas downtown?

LaRosa's specifically stated a few years ago that they had no interest in opening a location downtown. They said that downtown residents can place an order for delivery and it will be handled from their Queensgate location. It is disappointing that many of these iconic Cincinnati brands have no interest in having a signature location downtown, other than Frisch's. A flagship UDF would be perfect for The Banks IMO.

Share this post

Link to post

Share on other sites

LaRosa's specifically stated a few years ago that they had no interest in opening a location downtown. They said that downtown residents can place an order for delivery and it will be handled from their Queensgate location. It is disappointing that many of these iconic Cincinnati brands have no interest in having a signature location downtown, other than Frisch's. A flagship UDF would be perfect for The Banks IMO.

I mean it's interesting because I've seen larosas in really shady areas. I didn't even know there was a larosas in roselawn for crying out loud! But not one in downtown? It's just so confusing... obviously they are comfortable with locating there stores in very poor areas so that can't be a reason.